The main purpose of this paper is to describe the basic findings obtained as a result of the implementation of two projects of Computer and Information Technologies held in Valencia (Spain) between 2002 and 2003 with 92 second year university students enrolled in English as a foreign language to find out their ICT and foreign language needs both…

Ensuring that language tests for adult English language learners are appropriate, valid, and reliable is a challenge. Performance-based assessments are complex to develop and implement. Yet, because the focus of assessment, both in the National Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS) descriptors and in the Department of Education's definition…

Learning to read in English is difficult for adult English language learners. Teachers know that their learners come from diverse backgrounds, have different experiences with literacy in their first languages, and have various reasons for learning English. They also know that there is no simple recipe to help their students become proficient…

In June of 1998, Proposition 227 was passed by 61 percent of the California electorate. Intended to change how the state's English learners (ELs) are instructed, Proposition 227 required that ELs be taught "overwhelmingly in English" through sheltered/structured English immersion (SEI) programs during a transition period and then…

This digest presents information on bilingual-bicultural education for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The premise of bilingual-bicultural education is that all children who are deaf or hard of hearing should develop communicative competency and that they need to be bilingual in order to function successfully in the family, school, and…

A study investigated the organization and development of second language lexicons among Hong Kong learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). Specifically, it compared the associations promoted by a single list of 20 frequent, common words in the learners' native language (L1, Chinese) and second language (L2, English). Subjects were 22…

A study examined whether written language in general and dialog journal writing in particular is the preferred vehicle for syntactic acquisition of some adult learners. Subjects were five adult English-as-second-language (ESL) students, all literate in their first language, which was Spanish. Subjects were observed over a period of 16 weeks.…

This collection of articles on language teaching and language acquisition theories includes: "Enseignement des langues et theories de l'acquisition. Introduction au colloque" ("Language Teaching and Theories of Acquisition. Introduction to the Colloquium") (Rene Richterich); "Apprendre une langue dans l'interaction verbale" ("Language Learning in…

About and for teachers, this book examines children's language acquisition from the time they are born throughout the years of schooling. It tracks first and second language acquisition from birth through the school years using the experiences of a number of different children to exemplify stages and sequences of development. Chapters in the book…

Intended as a guide for learners of a second language, the book suggests creative, positive steps the individual learner can take to improve his chances of success. The first chapter looks at what is involved in learning a second language and suggests that the individual can take control of the learning process. The second and third chapters…

The four 1997 issues include these articles: "Introduction to Government and Binding Theory," parts 4-7 (Cheryl A. Black), which discuss constraints on movement, semantic roles and case theory, binding theory, and more recent additions to the theory; "A Scholar's Ethic" (William J. Samarin), concerning the behavior of scholars…

Articles in these two issues are as follows: "Imagination and Memory: Friends or Enemies" (Earl W. Stevick); "Imagination in Second Language Acquisition" (James J. Asher); "Where the Magic Lies" (Interview with Carolyn Graham); "Drawing on Experience: The Interview" (with John Dumicich); "What Color is…

This project brought together educational theorists and practitioners in Spain to create a model of teacher training based on research by trainees into their own practice and to create a curriculum of Spanish language adapted to the students of the location where it was developed. The project was undertaken in the context of educational policy…

The purpose of this paper is to review new trends in teaching grammar at the secondary school level. With new developments in the fields of linguistics and psychology which resulted in the shift from structurally-dominated English-as-a-foreign-language methodology to a more communicatively-oriented one, new ideas have prevailed in language…

One way for teachers to integrate information technology (IT) into their classrooms is through the use of computer assisted language learning (CALL) software programs. Much has been written about how teachers should select and evaluate such software programs; this paper attempts to consolidate some of the issues discussed in the literature and to…